UCLA hired former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo as the new director of leadership, the team announced Friday. It's an advisory role -- both on and off the field -- for the Midshipmen's all-time wins leader, who earned 11 bowl berths and won nine straight over Army during his 16 years in Annapolis. The run ended following a 4-8 effort in 2022, punctuated by a double-overtime loss to Army, that marked the program's third straight losing season.
Niumatalolo and Kelly have never worked together in an official capacity, but Kelly spent a week with Navy during the spring of 2017, exchanging ideas with the staff following his dismissal from the San Francisco 49ers.
"Some of the things he did at Oregon revolutionized football," Niumatalolo said then. "Everybody's doing no-huddle, one-word concepts. His offseason stuff, his up-tempo stuff, a lot of the things that he implemented, literally high school, college and pro guys are doing it. He's definitely a trendsetter."
Kelly's offensive scheme evolved from a triple-option foundation, which is what Niumatalolo primarily used in Annapolis. However, the Navy scheme under Niumatalolo began to incorporate more shotgun sets and concepts late in his career.
